Fundamentally Freund: A bit of hasbara heresy

Why, oh why, can’t Jews do as good a job at selling the Jewish state?

Jerusalem Day celebrations 370.
(photo credit:Marc Israel Sellem)

Complaining about Israel’s hasbara, or public diplomacy, has become a favorite
national pastime of pro-Israel activists.

Whenever I speak to Jewish or
Christian audiences in Israel and abroad, there is inevitably someone who feels
it necessary to launch into a harangue about just how terrible the Jewish state
is at explaining itself.

Jews are among the most successful marketing and
public-relations executives worldwide, the questioner might ask, and excel at
promoting a variety of consumer products. Why, oh why, can’t Jews do as good a
job at selling the Jewish state? Having been involved in hasbara in one form or
another for more than two decades, I certainly share the sense of
frustration.

I remember well how, in the mid-1990s, when I served as
deputy communications director in the Prime Minister’s Office during Binyamin
Netanyahu’s first term, we devoted countless hours to tackling just this
issue.

Is it the hostility of the media that stands in the way? A lack of
appreciation on the part of various government bodies for the importance of PR?
Or perhaps it is Israel’s fractious politics, and the mixed messages that often
emerge, which truly complicate things.

Whatever the true cause of our
troubles, there is no doubt that our standing in the eyes of international
public opinion remains a matter of grave concern. Amid rising calls for boycotts
and sanctions from radical anti-Israel forces, and the hurling of slurs such as
“apartheid,” it seems imperative to redouble our efforts at explaining the
justness of Israel’s cause.

Nonetheless, I am beginning to wonder if
perhaps our heightened focus on what is wrong has led us to overlook a lot of
what is right.

Consider the following. As President Barack Obama prepares
to arrive in our region and snarl traffic over the next few days, Israelis
received some good news regarding our oft-maligned international public
image.

According to a survey conducted by Gallup, US support for Israel
is at the highest level seen in nearly a quarter-century, with 64 percent of
Americans saying they sympathize more with Israel than with the Palestinians. A
mere 12% said they favor our foes.

The last time the Jewish state enjoyed
such levels of support was back in 1991, when Saddam Hussein was firing SCUD
missiles at Tel Aviv and the Palestinian intifada was raging.

And in the
past decade alone, US backing for Israel has surged by 18 points from its 2003
level of just 46 percent.

The support is also broad-based, cutting across
various demographic groups from young to old, men and women, and from the
uneducated to those with advanced degrees.

To put this in perspective: a
similar Gallup poll taken at the same time found that a majority of Americans,
53% to 40%, hold an unfavorable view of Egypt. In the case of Saudi Arabia, the
numbers are even worse: 58% of the US public views the desert kingdom
unfavorably versus just 36% with a positive opinion.

So when compared
with the two countries which the media often portrays as America’s most
important Arab allies in the region, Israel finds itself in a far better public
position.

What makes these numbers all the more impressive is the fact
that the Jewish state has been on the receiving end of unprecedented media bias
and partiality. Just check out the important work being done by groups such as
Honest Reporting or CAMERA (the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting
in America) to expose and counter anti- Israel slander and you will see how
twisted the coverage of our region can often be.

But this raises an
important question: if the mainstream media is so profoundly against us, then
why are we doing so well in the arena of American public opinion? If the image
being conveyed of Israel is so consistently negative, then why do people there
seem to like us so much? To be sure, there are a number of possible answers,
ranging from the groundswell of evangelical Christian support for Israel to the
penetration of the Internet and its ability to circumvent traditional media
outlets. Either way, the fact remains that we must be doing something right in
how we explain ourselves if our public standing in America is so strong and
resilient.

Some may view this as a bit of hasbara heresy, a form of
violating the nearly sacred belief that our public diplomacy is simply putrid.
But I prefer to think of it as a healthy dose of reality. After all, in order to
put together an effective communications strategy, the first thing one must do
is assess the playing field and get a good sense of what one’s position is in
the eyes of the public.

Telling ourselves that everything stinks, even
when it doesn’t, is neither helpful nor truthful.

Yes, we have to roll up
our sleeves and keep fighting the good fight to defend Israel and its
image.

But in the process, let’s make sure to savor and learn from our
successes, rather than downplay and ignore them.